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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday Stamping: Unnatural Animals

This week the stamping challenge for the group Adventure in Stamping was truly a fun one. The challenge was a stamped manicure with the theme of unnatural animals. I have been wanting to try a rainbow gradient animal print for quite a while, so this was the perfect opportunity for it. What could be more unnatural than a rainbow zebra?

For the gradient I used the technique of layering all the colors on a cosmetic sponge and then sponging them on all at once. I'm so in love with this technique that now I look for any excuse to do a gradient. I stamped using Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and Bundle Monster plate BM-223. I then matted the whole thing using Essie Matte About You. The matte topcoat smudged the stamped pattern a bit, so in hindsight I probably should have used a regular top coat first and then the matte.The good news is that the smudges are only visible up close :)

A few shots of what the gradient looked like before I stamped and matted it. For the base I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, a soft white with a hint of gray. Swatches of that polish are coming soon. For the rest of the colors I used nearly every polish from the Color Club POPtastic collection. Scroll down to see the full list...

Colors used (left to right): Wet 'n Wild Caught Red Handed, Color Club Wham! Pow!, Almost Famous, Twiggie, Chelsea Girl and Pucci Licious. I love this collection when I need primary colors for a manicure. The only thing it is missing in my opinion is a good red hence why I had to use a Wet 'n Wild Polish. The set contains two pinks instead which I didn't use for this manicure. You can see the cosmetic sponge that I used and my "palette" to dab on. The purple didn't actually make it onto my nails since they were too short. Guess there is always next time :D

I would love to know what you think of this! What kind of unnatural animal would you have created?

Well done! Very pretty nailart! I love gradients and I love animal prints, as long as they aren't tacky... Love your rainbow-gradient! Did you wet your sponge before you put the polishes on? I'd love to know before I'll try myself...

Thank you so much everyone! You are just so sweet with your comments! I'm glad you like the gradient :)

To answer some questions...

- I don't reuse my sponges simply because I don't use any expensive ones that are worth trying to clean and save. I use either a faux seafoam sponge and cut off small pieces when I'm sponging each color individually or a cheap cosmetic wedge when doing a multicolor smooth gradient. Neither one is expensive or worth saving/cleaning.

- I didn't wet the sponge before applying polishes for the gradient. I just apply stripes of colors to the sponge, dab it onto my "palette" and then start on my nails. It works well enough without wetting for me so I not tried it the other way. I will try one of these days just to compare...

- For the base I used I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. It is nearly white with just a hint of gray.

I hope this answers some questions, but don't hesitate to ask if something is still not clear :)

About Me

I am a self proclaimed craft nerd. I love all things crafty and will try just about any of it. Favorite hobbies include carving candles, decorating cakes, and making jewelry. In my free time, I love to play with nail polish! Questions/comments? Feel free to contact me at angalek@gmail.com